Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, 2002. Report of a Rapid
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Report of a Rapid Biodiversity Assessment at Dapingshan Headwater Forest Nature Reserve, East Guangxi, China, 24 to 27 September 1998 Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in collaboration with Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Forestry Department Guangxi Institute of Botany South China Normal University Guangxi Normal University Xinyang Teachers’ College South China Institute of Botany November 2002 South China Forest Biodiversity Survey Report Series: No. 19 (Online Simplified Version) Report of a Rapid Biodiversity Assessment at Dapingshan Headwater Forest Nature Reserve, East Guangxi, China, 24 to 27 September 1998 Editors John R. Fellowes, Bosco P.L. Chan, Michael W.N. Lau, Billy C.H. Hau and Ng Sai-Chit Contributors Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden: Billy C.H. Hau (BH) Bosco P.L. Chan (BC) John R. Fellowes (JRF) Michael W.N. Lau (ML) Lee Kwok Shing (LKS) Graham T. Reels (GTR) Ng Sai-Chit (NSC) Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Forestry Department: Xu Zhihong (XZH) Tan Haiming (THM) Guangxi Institute of Botany: Li Guangzhou (LGZ) Tong Saichun (TSC) South China Normal University: Chen Xianglin (CXL) Li Zhenchang (LZC) Lu Pingke (LPK) Guangxi Normal University: Lu Liren (LLR) Xinyang Teachers’ College: Li Hongjing (LHJ) South China Institute of Botany: Chen Jisheng (CJS) Voluntary specialists: Keith D.P. Wilson (KW) Background The present report details the findings of a trip to East Guangxi by members of Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) in Hong Kong and their colleagues, as part of KFBG's South China Biodiversity Conservation Programme. The overall aim of the programme is to minimise the loss of forest biodiversity in the region, and the emphasis in the first phase is on gathering up-to-date information on the distribution and status of fauna and flora. Citation Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, 2002. Report of a Rapid Biodiversity Assessment at Dapingshan Headwater Forest Nature Reserve, East Guangxi, China, 24 to 27 September 1998. South China Forest Biodiversity Survey Report Series (Online Simplified Version): No. 19. KFBG, Hong Kong SAR, ii + 15 pp. Copyright © Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden Corporation Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, N.T., Hong Kong SAR November 2002 - i - Contents Objectives ………………………………………………………………………………. 1 Methods ………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Location and management …………………………………………………….………… 2 Vegetation……………………………………………………………………………….. 2 Results …………………………………………………………….…………………….. 2 Flora ………………………………………………………………………………………. 2 Mammals …………………………………………………………………………………. 4 Birds ………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 Reptiles and Amphibians ……………………………………………………………….. 6 Fish ………………………………………………………………………………………... 7 Ants ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 8 Dragonflies ………………………………………………………………………………. 9 Butterflies ………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Summary of flora and fauna ………………………………………………….………… 11 Threats and problems …………………………………………………………………… 11 Opportunities and recommendations …………………………………………………… 12 Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………….. 12 References ………………………………………………………………………………. 12 Figure 1. Map………………………………………….…………………………………. 15 Translation of some common Chinese geographical terms Romanized Chinese (pinyin) English meaning Bei north Dao island Dong east Feng shui the Chinese system of geomancy Feng, Ding peak Gang harbour Hai sea He, Chuan, Jiang river Hu, Chi lake Keng, Gu valley Kou outlet Ling range Nan south Shan mountain Shi city Tun hamlet Wan bay Xi west Xi, Yong stream Xian county Xiang, Cun village - ii - Report of a Rapid Biodiversity Assessment at Dapingshan Headwater Forest Nature Reserve, East Guangxi, China, 24 to 27 September 1998 Objectives The aims of the survey were to collect up-to-date information on the fauna and flora of Dapingshan Headwater Forest Nature Reserve, and to use this to help determine conservation priorities within South China. Methods Having conducted rapid biodiversity assessments in various sections of Dayaoshan National Nature Reserve (Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, 2002a), the survey team from Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (BC, JRF, BH, ML, LKS, GTR), Guangxi Forestry Department (XZH), Guangxi Institute of Botany (LGZ, TSC), South China Normal University (LZC, LPK), Guangxi Normal University (LLR), Xinyang Teachers' College (LHJ) and South China Institute of Botany (CJS) conducted rapid survey at Dapingshan Nature Reserve on 24 to 26 September. During fieldwork visual searching for plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, ants, butterflies and dragonflies was conducted. Frogs and birds were also located by their calls. Plant records were made by field observation, with some specimens collected. Status of large and medium-sized mammals (excluding Insectivora, Chiroptera and Muridae) at Dapingshan was inferred largely based on interviews with local people, with reference to colour pictures. For purposes of these interviews a list of South China mammals was compiled from various sources including Guangdong Forestry Department and South China Institute of Endangered Animals (1987), Corbet & Hill (1992) and Zhang Y. et al. (1997). Vascular plant records were made by LGZ, and edited by NSC. Records of birds were made or verified by LKS, reptiles and amphibians by ML or LZC, fish by BC & CXL, ants by JRF, butterflies by GTR and dragonflies by GTR and KW of Hong Kong. Nomenclature in the report is standardised based, unless otherwise stated, on the following references: – Flora (Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae and Angiospermae excluding Orchidaceae): Anon. (1959-2001); Anon. (1991); Anon. (1996-2001); Anon. (2002a, 2002b); The Plant Names Project (2001); – Mammals (Mammalia): Wilson & Cole (2000); – Birds (Aves): Inskipp et al. (1996); – Reptiles and Amphibians (Reptilia and Amphibia): Zhao E.-M. & Adler (1993); Zhao E. et al. (2000); – Fish (Actinopterygii): Nelson (1994); Wu et al. (1999); – Ants (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae): named species according to Bolton (1995); unnamed species with reference numbers according to the collection currently held by KFBG. – Dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata): Schorr et al. (2001a, 2001b); – Butterflies (Insecta: Lepidoptera): Bascombe (1995). Information on the global status of species is from IUCN publications, notably IUCN Species Survival Commission (2002). Certain taxa, including orchids, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates, have yet to be properly assessed for global status. Protected status in China is based on Hua & Yan (1993) for animals, and State Forestry Administration & Ministry of Agriculture (1999) for plants. - 1 - Location and management Dapingshan Headwater Forest Nature Reserve is in the northwest of Guiping County, next to Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County, in East-central Guangxi. The coordinates have been given as 23º32'-23º34' N, 109º56'-109º59'E (Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 1993) and 23o30’-23o40’N, 109o58’-110o03’E (MacKinnon et al., 1996). The reserve is 19 km2 in area. The region has a southern subtropical monsoon climate with mean monthly temperature range from 11oC in January to 27oC in July. Average annual rainfall is 1,900 mm, of which most occurs from February to September. Rainfall in the remaining months usually exceeds 50 mm, such that there is no pronounced dry season. The rivers drain south into the Qianjiang, which flows east to the Xijiang (West River). The geology is mainly sandstone and conglomerates. The landscape, at the southern tip of the Dayaoshan range, is mountainous with deep ravine valleys and mountain ridges with a mostly northeast-southwest orientation. Altitude in the reserve ranges from about 200 m to 1,158 m at the summit of Dapingshan. The area was designated a nature reserve by the Guiping County Government in 1983 (Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 1993). The major objective is to protect the tree fern Alsophila spinulosa, the tree Apterosperma oblata, and Shinisaurus crocodilurus (Crocodile Lizard) and its habitat (Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 1993). It is listed as a Provincial-level Forest Ecosystem Nature Reserve (Zhang W., 1998), and managed by the provincial Forestry Department. Vegetation The major vegetation in the Dapingshan region is southern subtropical monsoon evergreen broadleaf forest, which is also the zonal vegetation (Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 1993). Important families in this vegetation include Euphorbiaceae, Rutaceae, Moraceae, Annonaceae, Areaceae, and Araceae. The forest was dominated in the early 1990s by Castanopsis fissa, Cryptocarya chingii, Litsea monopetala, Ficus auriculata, Saurauia tristyla and Macaranga henryi (Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 1993). In ravines below 600 m, tropical monsoon rainforest dominated by Erythrophloeum fordii, Madhuca pasquieri, Endospermum chinense and Mischocarpus oppositifolius could be found (Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 1993). The present study surveyed a secondary forest between 300 and 600 m. The forest canopy was about 10-20 m in height, with individual trees up to 30 m and over 1 m dbh. Some of the natural forest had been replaced several decades earlier by fir plantations. Results Flora Earlier surveys of the Dapingshan area had recorded 1,015 vascular plant species in 164 families. They included a number of globally Threatened plants, such as Erythrophloeum fordii, Madhuca pasquieri, Apterosperma oblata, and Zenia insignis (Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 1993). The present